How to Start a Business with Bad Personal Credit?

It should come as no surprise that it is not easy to obtain small business loans if you have bad personal credit. That can make starting up a business with bad personal credit a little more difficult, but it is not impossible.

Develop Your Business Credit

One way to make your loan applications more attractive is to build your business credit apart from your personal credit. While it is not the fastest method of obtaining small business loans, it may very well be the surest way to get the money you need for expansion or further development. 

The first thing you will need is a federal tax identification number. This is easy to obtain, and will replace your social security number when making financial transactions related to your business, and also when filing taxes for your business.

Once you have your federal tax identification number you can take the steps necessary to begin accumulating credit for your business:

• Open vendor accounts in your business name

• Open a bank account in your business name

• Apply for small business credit cards in your business name

Once you have established good credit in the name of your business, you can use that to apply for traditional small business loans from local lenders.

Getting Started Faster

If you don’t have the time or the resources to fund your own startup you can check out the many social lending possibilities available online. Social lending sites are appealing, because many times all you have to do is convince a potential private investor of the validity of your idea and your ability to make it work. Social lending sites are the internet connection to venture capitalists. 

If you are already in operation, but don’t have enough time invested in your business to have built up reasonable business credit, consider getting a cash advance against accounts receivable. These loans are like payday loans. You will need to provide the lender with a full account of your receivables, but it provides you with cash flow to buy new equipment, fund payroll or expand without waiting for the money you have coming in.

Small Business Loans - Start Your Business With Your Money

Big or small, if you put your mind and heart in a business then there is no way left but to achieve success. It is, in fact, a small business which will make you build the foundation for a bigger business and a very successful future. So, while setting your small business if you feel the lack of the necessary finance then can go for the small business loans. These loans are designed to help you only.

While you go for these loans you will find that there are two forms of such loans. One is the secured loans and another is the unsecured. You should not just blindly approach any of these. In stead, knowing about these and then taking one up will be better. The secured loans are for those who are home owners or have valuable property to pledge as collateral. It provides facilities like lower interest rate, bigger amount and longer repayment term. So, if you think that you need a bit large amount for your business then the secured loans will be the best thing to go for.

However, for not so big monetary requirements and for the non-homeowners the unsecured loans are perfect. It is good for non-homeowners only because no collateral is required here. So, you can take up this loan and start your business without any tension.

For bad credit holders doors to success are now open as these loans are provided to them too. No matter whatever their credit score is, they are eligible for it even if they carry records like arrears, bankruptcy, late payment, CCJs or defaults.

When it is about starting a new business many things comes into context. These are like buying a land or an office or a store, constructing office, decorating it, hiring people to work, buying raw materials and machines. For all these things the loans too must be adequate. The small business loans have solved all those problems and are helping its borrowers in each and every aspect.

Unsecured Business Loans

Collateral - A borrower's asset that is given up to the lender if the borrower is unable to pay back the principal and interest on the loan; making the lender the new owner of the collateral.

Credit Score - A numerical expression based on the analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the perceived likelihood that the person will pay debts in a timely manner.

These are two terms that one must be familiar with when contemplating a business loan, simply because banks consider both of these when determining whether or not to approve the loan. Many small business owners may not have one or the other (sufficient collateral or a high credit score), leading them to search for unsecured business loans, which only require borrowers to posses one of these requirements.

An unsecured business loan is a business loan that is not backed by collateral. In most cases, this leaves unsecured business loan lenders to rely solely on the borrower's credit rating. Collateral serves as a means for the lender to get back the money that they have lent, should the borrower default on the loan. It is a back-up plan for lenders to make sure that they get their money back no matter what. If a borrower does not have collateral, a lender may require the borrower to have a near perfect credit score. This is because the lender can only rely on the borrower's past borrowing and repayment habits to determine if he/she is likely to repay the loan. Consequently, it is virtually impossible for a potential borrower with a low credit score to receive an unsecured business loan, because their credit history suggests that they will not repay their loan on time, if at all.

However, there are lending companies that offer a different kind of unsecured business loan; one that is not based on the borrower's credit rating. These lending companies provide a type of unsecured business loan called a merchant cash advance. A merchant cash advance is a lump sum of cash given to a merchant in exchange for a small percentage of the business' future credit card receivables.

Since a merchant cash advance is based on a business' future credit card receivables, rather than the borrower's credit score and/or collateral, it can only be utilized by retail business owners who process credit card transactions.

Additional requirements may vary from lender to lender. Generally, a merchant must not have any unresolved bankruptcies or tax liens to be eligible to receive a merchant cash advance. Also, lenders may require merchants to process anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 in monthly credit card sales for four months to one year before approving a cash advance. Merchants are also usually required to have at least one year remaining on their business' lease.

A merchant cash advance can be a great alternative to a bank loan. Most lenders are able to provide loans from $5,000 to $500,000, depending on how much money a particular business location receives in credit card sales each month.

If you are one of the many loan-seekers in search of an unsecured business loan, choosing a merchant cash advance may be a very lucrative decision, especially if your credit score is not great. If you meet the minimum requirements (owning a business that processes credit card sales), consider researching the existing merchant cash advance lenders, and find out if a merchant cash advance is the unsecured business loan for you.